Sense motive
Sense Distraction: You can use this skill to determine the degree to which somebody is paying attention; on a successful check you determine a moment when the target is considered distracted, allowing you to make use of stealth as normal for when you are not being observed. The DC for this action is normally 15 but is modified in a number of ways, as shown below. If you fail the check you do not find a momentary lapse in the target’s attention but are otherwise unaffected. Action: Using Sense Motive to determine distraction is a standard action. Special: You may sense distraction as a swift action, doing so doubles the DC for the check. Design notes: This use of the ability does not allow you to ignore stealth checks, it merely provides you with a means by which you can make use of stealth checks under conditions which normally do not allow it. The target does not suffer a special penalty to perception from this skill use, it merely allows you to attempt to stealth when you otherwise would not be able to. Table Sense Distraction, base DC 15 DC modifier Target is preoccupied -5 Target is guarding or on watch +5 Target is alert +5 Target is paying attention to you +5 Target tries to keep attention on you +Wisdom modifier of target Favorable conditions -2 Unfavorable conditions +2 Observe target for at least a minute -5 Multiple targets Use DC for highest target and add +2 for each other target As a swift action Double resulting DC A target “paying attention to you” refers to the target seeing you. A target that merely knows or suspects that you are around somewhere imposes unfavorable conditions, but it does not count as paying attention to you. Once a target is paying attention to you, and trying to keep attention on you (as well as being on guard, alert, etc), it will generally be more effective to create a diversion with a Bluff than to wait for a moment of distraction with Sense Motive. Some examples, to round off the post: Susi Swiftfoot (Sense Motive skill of +16) is hiding at the entrance to a hall, two guards are on the other side, about 30ft away. 1. She wants to slip away through the open entrance without being noticed. She takes a standard action to sense distraction (2 targets on guard duty results in a DC of 15 + 5 + 2 = 22); she rolls an 8, which together with her +16 gives her a sense motive check of 24 which is sufficient to react to the moment where both guards look at a curvy maid passing their way. She gets a 34 on her stealth check which easily covers her from the perception checks of the guards as she slips through the entrance and away. 2. She wants to attack, but use an opportune moment to get the jump on one of them. She needs to cover a lot of ground and still have time to attack, so she uses swift actions to try and respond to even the slightest distraction in her targets. The DC is doubled (resulting in 2 * (15 + 5 + 2) = 44) which she cannot make; but after a minute of observation in which she successfully keeps hiding in her current position she gets used to their rhythm and the check gets easier (2 * (15 + 5 + 2 – 5) = 34); she can make this check and after a few rounds of observation she rolls a 19 which results in a check of 35, enough to catch the moment both guards are laughing at some joke – she dashes forward, her dagger is the silent death as she rolls her stealth check… Category:Skills